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Turkey was not trying to interfere in the Dutch elections by sending ministers to attend a pro-Ankara rally in Rotterdam, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Monday.
“I don’t believe it was their idea to influence the elections,” Rutte said, amid a full-scale diplomatic crisis between Turkey and The Netherlands.
Ties between Turkey and The Netherlands have hit a new low after the Dutch authorities barred the Turkish foreign minister from landing in the country, and later Saturday expelled another minister who travelled overland.
“The problem with Turkey was that it was very difficult to agree with the foreign minister on the logistics of a visit he wanted to pay on Saturday to speak with a limited group of people in one of the Turkish consulates,” Rutte told a press conference.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had then said on CNN that he was “threatening the Netherlands with sanctions.”
But Rutte stressed “we will never negotiate under threats. That’s why we stopped discussions and we told him (the minister), he was not welcome any longer that Saturday.
“But I don’t believe it was their idea to influence the Dutch elections, I believe they just wanted to come here to talk with Turkish people about the referendum.”